Malachite (Steven Universe)
Malachite is the final antagonist in the Season 1 finale of Steven Universe, "Jail Break" as well as the main antagonist of the Season 3 premiere, "Super Watermelon Island". She was created when Jasper and Lapis Lazuli fused as Jasper's final attempt to defeat Garnet and the other Crystal Gems. She was defeated when Lapis took control of the fusion and dragged Malachite into the ocean, imprisoning Jasper and herself. She is voiced by Jennifer Paz and Kimberly Brooks. Appearance Malachite is a massive fusion, nearly equal in size to Sugilite on all fours and Alexandrite on her back legs. She possesses six arms, of which the lower four function as legs. She has four eyes with light green irises and pointed teeth. Her first set of eyes function as eyebrows. Her eyes change shape based upon who is controlling her, with her eyes being small and catlike as Jasper and a larger, rounder shape as Lapis. Her wavy pale green hair, styled in a star like Alexandrite's, is a short bob like Lapis', but wild and frizzy like Jasper's. Her skin is mint green with teal stripes, and its pattern is similar to Jasper's. She has two torsos joined, similar to a Centaur. Her upper torso and arms are longer and more slender while her lower torso and four limbs are more muscular. The upper half of her outfit, which is a deep green and greenish-black stretched halter top, has a pattern like Lapis' suit with a neckline like Jasper's while its lower half is a greenish-black "uniform" similar to Jasper's with a V-neck "collar" that connects to form a Yellow Diamond insignia, serving as a waistband for her upper torso. Personality Due to being a fusion, Malachite's personality is a twisted combination of both Jasper and Lapis' character traits. However, because she is an unstable fusion held together with anger, their personalities are present rather than merging into a new one (much like how Alexandrite displayed the individual personalities of Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl when one of them has a disagreement with each other like Pearl's refusal to eat when Amethyst wants to while Garnet tries to keep the peace). Once formed, she is shown as having Jasper's disdain for the Crystal Gems and wishing to see them destroyed, but Lapis' consciousness was later shown to be the most authoritative, influentia, and dominant, as she is able to overpower Jasper's. In "Chille Tid", Lapis is shown to be struggling to maintain her dominance over Jasper, it is also clear that if Lapis is distracted for the shortest period, Jasper can gain control. At the end of the episode, Malachite's personality starts to dominate and suppress Lapis' own, much in the same way Pearl was afraid it would happen to Amethyst and Garnet when fused into Sugilite for too long. It ends on a chilling note with Lapis refusing the name Lapis and proclaiming that they are Malachite now, indicating that Malachite's true personality is formed and is starting to take over. It is unknown if Jasper had also lost herself to the fusion. Powers and Abilities Malachite presumably possesses standard Gem abilities, bubbling, shapeshifting, fusion, regeneration, agelessness, and superhuman strength/durability. *'Crash Helmet Proficiency': Being a fusion of Jasper, Malachite can summon her weapon: a tangerine, crystalline helmet. The helmet acts both as a weapon and armor; a hammer-like protrusion in the front of the helmet allows her to use it to charge, slam, and headbutt her opponent while a clear orange-tinted visor extends down, covering the upper part of her face. The sturdiness of the helmet rivals that of Garnet's gauntlets, as Jasper is shown continuously countering her attacks. *'Hydrokinesis': Malachite inherits Lapis' power to manipulate water and liquid material. She has demonstrated she can form water into various constructs that she can control. She is shown to form hands out of water that she can use to smite enemies. She is also able to form chains to entangle or trap enemies with. She can control water even when not attached to a larger body, causing it to levitate. *'Matter State Manipulation': Malachite can change the state of matter of water using her hydrokinetic abilities, causing it to turn into ice. She uses the ice for both offense and defense, as projectiles or a shield. *'Flight': Malachite can use Lapis Lazuli's water-wings to propel herself at high velocities as an evasive maneuver or as a method of transportation. *'Spin Dash': Malachite can roll herself into a ball-like shape and propel herself at foes at great speeds. She has inherited this ability from Jasper. *'Comet Charge': While airborne, Malachite can lunge at enemies with alarming speed and power. This attack is very powerful as shown when it knocks Alexandrite to the ground. History Malachite makes her first brief appearance at the end of the episode "Jail Break" where Jasper, despite her belief that fusion is a cheap tactic used by weak Gems to make themselves stronger, "persuades" a distraught Lapis Lazuli to fuse with her after the Gem Warship's crash landing. Lapis' consciousness, revealing the fusion as a trap, soon restrains a startled Malachite in chains of water, dragging her to the bottom of the sea near Beach City to prevent Jasper from creating further destruction. This reveals that Jasper has more control over the fusion while Lapis retains control of her Hydrokinetic abilities. Many of the following episodes revolve around, but do not feature, Malachite herself, as the Crystal Gems are actively searching for her at the bottom of the sea. In the episode "Love Letters", it is revealed that Garnet regularly patrols the ocean without the other Crystal Gems in search of her until Peridot's resurfacing puts the search for her on hold until "Super Watermelon Island". She makes her next major appearance in "Chille Tid" where Steven can enter the fusion's realm in his dreams and contact both Lapis and Jasper inside of Malachite. Once inside, he observes the incessant power struggle for control of their unstable fusion. Steven's interference allows Jasper to gain the upper hand temporarily before Lapis tugs it away from her, refusing his offer to help her. In the end, Lapis finally loses herself to the fusion, likely meaning that Malachite is finally herself — clearly a different situation compared to the mental war between the two components up to this point. Because of their new bond, Malachite is no longer restrained to the ocean floor. Jasper and Lapis' fusion is still based on anger and mistrust, as Garnet mentioned, but it is no longer fueled by Lapis' fierce desire to keep Steven safe by imprisoning Jasper. This may be because Gems (especially in unstable fusions) will lose their individuality after being fused for too long, as seen when Sugilite went on a rampage after Garnet and Amethyst were fused for a long period and trapped themselves in a psychotic episode. However, Steven claims Lapis is still in control after his dream, which is shown in the beginning of "Super Watermelon Island". In "Super Watermelon Island", Malachite resurfaces in the waters of Mask Island. It appears that for some time now the Watermelon Stevens that have colonized the island have been performing regular sacrifices to Malachite. The chosen Watermelon Steven would have a star painted on their chest, a crown of roses placed on their head, and then be taken to a seaside cliff where Malachite would swallow them. While Steven sleeps, his mind inhabits the body of a Watermelon Steven on Mask Island, which is how he learns about Malachite. After informing them of Malachite being the cause of the recent tremors, the Crystal Gems quickly warp to Mask Island to fight Malachite. While the Crystal Gems fuse into Alexandrite to try and contain her, Lapis finally loses control of the fusion to Jasper, who then insists on fighting Alexandrite to "have some fun". During the fight, the Watermelon Stevens that took up residence on the island join in to make an opportunity for Alexandrite to land a final blow on her, separating her into Jasper and Lapis Lazuli once again. Trivia *Malachite was the first Gem fusion shown where neither involved party was a member of the Crystal Gems. *This is the first fusion where one party (Lapis Lazuli)'s personality overpowers the other so completely that they can't even unfuse the Gem. This results in Lapis being able to drag Malachite into the ocean despite Jasper visibly attempting to unfuse. *Malachite was a shocking same height as the largest known fusion in the show, Alexandrite, which is comprised of four gems, while Malachite is only made of two. *Malachite is a living representation of an abusive relationship, as confirmed by the creators. 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